Japan’s under-20s are getting high like never before: ‘social morals are dying’

A record number of people under the age of 20 in Japan were arrested for cannabis offences last year, with experts on social norms attributing the sharp rise to growing despair about the future and the influence of celebrities known to use drugs. According to the National Police Agency (NPA), 1,373 people under the age of 20 were arrested for cannabis offences in Japan in 2025, an increase of more than a fifth from the previous year. The figure is the highest since age-specific drug offence data...